


Strings of Youth

by pointyhats



Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, First Crush, Growing Up, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pinning, Slow Burn, Young Hicksqueak
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 06:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15600084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pointyhats/pseuds/pointyhats
Summary: Glimpses of how Hecate and Pippa came to be, from the very beginning.





	Strings of Youth

The first time it happened, she ignored.

Pippa was by her side, sat on a chair with elbows resting on the table. Hecate didn’t personally know the girl, but her presence distracted her in a way that was both new and unwelcomed.

She had payed enough attention to the roll call to know what her name was, even though the classes had barely started. It unsettled her to think of how Pippa could invade her mind without even trying to, not even considering how unwanted were her constant visits.

There was something about this girl that made it almost impossible to look away – that thing that kept pulling her attention to her no matter how hard she tried to push it aside. She attempted to justify her interest with excuses – telling herself that it was only manifesting out of admiration, enthrallment with what Pippa represented. And it seemed to make enough sense at the time. Pippa was the kind of girl people smiled at; sociable, good-looking and sweet – that person who carried an aura of lightness wherever she went and gave a sample of it to whoever she touched.

Maybe that was it, appreciation.

As if to confirm her theory, Hecate dared to shoot a subtle glance at Pippa, taking her time to consider the details of her face – anything that could land her on an answer.

The first thing she noticed was that Pippa was, for lack of a better term, very pretty. Not the kind of pretty that made it to magazines, nor the kind to appear on stages. But she had that kind of beauty that wasn’t purely aesthetical, that was warm and inviting in a way no other girl Hecate had seen could even dream to compare to – in a way that made her ache to get closer.

When Pippa’s pencil fell to the ground, she turned back to the black board. From the corner of her eye she saw the colors moving, a blur of pink getting down to reach the ground. A small gasp took her back to the scene when Pippa hit her head against the wood and looked up, their eyes meeting for the first time.

And she smiled, eyebrows higher and lips pulled up in a way that made her look almost silly, as if mocking her own clumsiness.

Despite her confusion, Hecate’s heart tugged hard inside her chest, banging with violence. Her shocked expression went back to the usual mask of indiference, lips tight and eyes blank as she nodded dismissively and looked away, resting her own elbows on the table to focus on the potion’s mistress.

After what seemed to be the longest hour of her life, Hecate grabbed her things and stepped out of the classroom as fast as she could, aware of the eyes on her, not bothering to look back.

 

* * *

 

 

Hecate slipped against the wall, landing on the ground silently. With a sigh, she reached for her notebook to finish the so dreaded last page of homework, but her hand found the solid ground instead.

When her head moved to look, she found it, a bit more distant that she had expected.

She found other things as well – a pair of feet that led her through an uniform similar to the one she wore, guiding her to a slim neck and right to the face of the person she was trying to avoid.

Her mouth went dry, eyes going back to the notebook. Before she could reach for it, Pippa lowered herself and curled her fingers around the black cover, extending her arm and willing her to take it. Hecate complied, shifted her weight and sat straighter, the notebook now on her lap.

Pippa sat on her side, hands on the ground and fingers stretched out.

“It’s Hecate, right?” her tone was casual, head tilting to watch the other girl, brown eyes inquiring and curious.

Hecate tried to ignore the doubt pulling inside her. She wasn’t sure if it was wise, but she wanted to trust this girl, wanted to believe Pippa wasn’t there to gather personal information and gossip about her outside of bathroom stalls. But trust didn’t come naturally to Hecate and the memories of the previous term were still too fresh. She felt the walls around her getting a bit higher, suspicion only growing.

How did this girl even know her name ?

With a curt nod, she let out a single word.

“Yes.”

Her classmate nodded back, enthusiastically.

“I’m Pippa” she told her, and Hecate got the impression she was expecting something. Whatever it was, it never came.

After a few seconds passed and all Pippa got was another nod, she collected her legs and rested her cheek against them, making herself comfortable. The silence settled between the girls, until Hecate heard something sweep the floor and realized Pippa was scooting closer.

“What have you been doing here, all on your own ?”

The last part of the sentence reminded Hecate of the questions she had been asked months before even meeting Pippa, of the mockery she had been unable to identify at the time.

“None of your business.” she hissed.

And that did it.

“Do you need to be this rude ?” Pippa was looking at her differently then. Gone was the hesitation or the carefulness, her eyebrows furrowed and eyes tight.

Refusing to back down, Hecate sighed loudly.

“Maybe I do, Pentangle.”

Slowly Pippa rose to her feet and stepped back. Hecate felt her heart clench, but didn’t open her mouth to protest. The girl before her started walking from one side to another.

“Look, I just...” Pippa moved her hands, grasping the air and moving her fingers in a language Hecate wasn’t well-versed in. “I just wanted to... get closer and you were here so I thought...” she shook her head “nevermind.”

Hecate wouldn’t remember what happened after that, wouldn’t be sure if there had been more words or frantic gestures. At some point, Pippa turned back and left.

From that day on, Hecate stopped avoiding her classmate, for it wasn’t necessary – Pippa didn’t need any more incentive to keep her distance.


End file.
